ON AND OFF THE SCREEN || J.N ✔️

4.

maggie's point of view

the next morning i wake up from the beautiful californian sun, peeking into my room. i sit up, grab my phone and walk downstairs.

in the kitchen, mom is at the stove, cooking something that smells like 3 ingredient banana pancakes and turkey sausage. yup, mom's a total health, breakfast is the most important meal of the day freak.

"morning, mags. how'd you sleep?" she asks, her eyes not leaving the stove.

"good, thanks. it was nice getting in a slight breeze from outside," i respond, sitting at the table.

"don't worry, we'll get the air conditioning up and running soon. in other news, how'd you like it if jace were to show you around town today? it'd be nice to see the mall and other hang out places," she insists.

"i guess that'd be ok," i respond, trying to hide the evident feelings i have toward him.

mom puts a pancake and two pieces of sausage on my plate and i start eating. soon my brothers come downstairs and start talking about the normans and how great they are. kyle gushes about how he and glory had exchanged phone numbers and nate was on about how he had already made plans with xander for the day. once i finish breakfast, i rinse my plate and utensils off and place them to the dishwasher, heading upstairs.

i walk into my bedroom and straight to my closet. this is my first unofficial date with a boy, and quite frankly, it's bound to be special. i can't overdress, but can't underdress. i go through what's in my closet already which was only some stuff from nike, then through a box of the clothes that i hadn't yet unpacked. as i feel i'm out of luck, i look through my closet once more. in the back, i find a cute romper with a flower pattern, simple and nice.

i get dressed, put my hair in two french braids, put a bit of makeup and put on my shoes. i go downstairs to find mom, and see jace in the kitchen. he stands with his hands behind my back, looking a tad nervous, just like i feel.

"oh, hey jace!" i say, in the doorway.

"hey! you look great," he says, slightly blushing.

"thanks! you too," i respond, feeling a shade of pink erupt on my cheeks.

bam! the awkwardness bolt hits us in an instant.

"so, are you excited to see los angeles? well, the outskirts, but still," he says, trying to break the awkwardness barrier between us.

"yeah, i am! los angeles seems cool," there's a pause, "the outskirts," i respond, smiling.

"there's a lot to do here. so, you wanna go?" he asks, standing up.

"sure!"

we head out on foot. i then realize how much i can't wait until i turn sixteen to get my license.

"trust me, it's not too far away. man, i wish i could drive," he says.

"i was just thinking that," i respond, attempting to start a conversation with him.

he smiles which makes me smile.

we walk and talk about our hobbies and passions until we reach the mall.

"well, this is shadowcreek mall. it sounds creepy, but it's pretty nice. plus, there's air conditioning," he says, pointing at the big structure.

"yeah, looks nice. it's no mall of america, but it'll do."

we walk into the mall to kill time. 

"you like starbucks?" he asks.

"what kind of question is that?" i question, smiling.

"don't worry, i'm a white girl too," he says.

he leads the way to the starbucks and we get in line. i reach to grab my wallet, but he puts my hand down.

"i got this," he says, smiling.

"you sure?"

"yeah."

as he looks away to get his own money out, i blush uncontrollably.

we order, collect our drinks and find a place to sit. i realize how nice his smile is. and quite frankly, all of his features.

i got the total package: jace is the sweetest, cute, my neighbor and my future costar.

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